The Challenge Continues

It's now the 3rd week into my gluten challenge, & I thought it was about time for an update. It's been quite a journey so far...

Nope, not pregnant.
How my stomach is looking right now

Pain. Pain is the best way of describing how & what I'm feeling daily. Yesterday it was too much, & I didn't eat any gluten at all, & not much of anything else. Over the past couple of weeks, I've indulged in food I haven't eaten in ages; different types of bread, having pizza at a restaurant, homemade lasagna & cinnamon rolls. Living in Sweden, it's been nice to sample some traditional things that I haven't been able to since I arrived here. & I had beer again (but that's a big no-no. Was not feeling good after that). But it's all come with a painful price. So painful that I'm now wondering if it's worth continuing. The last five days have been the worst, & I can only see it continuing to get worse.

Gas. So much gas. My stomach is so irritated that it doesn't matter what I eat now. I save the gluten intake for when I get home from work, so that I don't get gas & cramps at work. It's at the stage now that my breakfast of steamed vegetables & the salad for lunch causes the same gas & cramping as a piece of bread does. Sometimes when I'm hungry & my stomach growls, that in turn sets off cramps & then gas. It's all a no-win situation.

With the cramps & gas, also comes nausea. It's mainly when there's a swirling feeling in my stomach. I also have burning sensations in my stomach & intestines, mostly at the same time, & I tend to feel nauseous when this occurs.

I've also been getting migraines here & there, something that I used to get a lot, particularly in high school. I'm starting to draw a lot of connections to previous health issues. My chest tends to feel a little tight at times too. I'm asthmatic, but I haven't had an attack for a very long time. I just feel when I draw out the last of my breath, there's a tightness there that I haven't felt in a long time.

The bloating continues. I noticed on Friday night that my ankles were swollen, & that calmed down a little today, but I think that was mainly because I didn't eat any gluten yesterday. Otherwise, my whole body is swollen, particularly my thighs & breasts (the boy is complaining about the latter).

So, I'm going to ring the clinic this week & see if they can give me a date or even an estimate to how long it's going to be. I really just want to stop eating this right now. The food adventure has been fun, but the fun is being overshadowed by pain.